Pages

30 November 2014

--The Dutch will pay a state visit to Denmark from March 17-19. I do love a state visit with tiaras on both sides. Polish up those big guns, ladies, polish 'em up. [Kongehuset]

--Astrid Alert #1: Princess Astrid of Belgium has been picking up the slack on the Belgian economic missions now that her brother Philippe is king, and I did love her splash of purple in Singapore this week. [Channel News Asia]

--Yesterday would have been the 80th wedding anniversary of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, Prince George and Princess Marina. Here's my original post on Marina's gown; below, a newsreel from the day. [British Pathé]

At that time, I wrote about my desire to see it on video once again, having seen it many years ago. So you can imagine the jumpy claps that occurred when, while searching around YouTube back in September for the golden wedding of Pavlos' parents, King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie, I stumbled across a huge portion of the wedding broadcast.

Video, above

This is some goooood royal wedding watching, friends. Not only is Marie-Chantal's wedding look incredibly royal (it is a Valentino couture gown, with no expense spared, worn with the Antique Corsage Tiara borrowed from Queen Anne-Marie), this wedding was attended by pretty much everybody. It even features a rare appearance by Queen Elizabeth II, who seldom personally attends such foreign royal events (the wedding was in London and her ties to the Greek royal family are strong, hence the appearance).

The discussion back in that first entry centered on whether this heavily embellished dress was a bit too overwhelming for this particular bride, but seeing it motion once again is renewing my appreciation for the gown. It certainly is heavy, but it in the midst of that ornate wedding setting and ceremony, it seems to fit right in. In the years since we first covered the dress, it has been displayed - the photos in this entry are from the Valentino: Master of Couture exhibit at Somerset House in 2012 - and I've heard from some of you that saw it in person. So let's revisit my original question: too much dress or no?

26 November 2014

Programming Note: Tomorrow is a holiday (Happy Thanksgiving!), so there will be no new post. But we won't go two weeks without a tiara feature, so enjoy this week's a day early. We'll return on Friday.

It's rare that I like a necklace tiara more in its necklace form - I'm a tiara girl, what can I say? - but I think that might be the case here. Or perhaps what I'm really after is the pendant that this piece once held...

The Greek Pearl and Diamond Necklace Tiara, in necklace form and in detail

Queen Frederika of Greece (1917-1981) had a necklace of pearls and diamonds featuring a large pointed center motif flanked by repeating motifs of a pearl surrounded by a fine diamond line. Not a lot is known about the piece, but Frederika was pictured wearing it fairly early on and continued to use it until late in her life. She used the necklace in its plain form but also swapped out the center motif for a large sapphire pendant from her collection.

Queen Frederika using the tiara as a necklace; Princess Irene using it as a tiara

And when I say "large" sapphire pendant, I mean LARGE. Large as in 478.68 carats in one stone. The sapphire in question has royal connections prior to Frederika: Queen Marie of Romania (1875-1938) wore it first. The cushion-cut sapphire was purchased from Cartier by Marie's husband, King Ferdinand. As you may remember from last time, Marie's jewels had been sent to Russia for safe keeping prior to the Bolshevik revolution and were sadly never returned to her. This sapphire was one of several jewel purchases she and her husband made to replenish her collection. Queen Marie wore the piece on a long diamond sautoir necklace and passed it down in the family, but by the marriage of her grandson King Michael in 1948, the family was in exile and the sapphire had been sold. It was subsequently purchased by a wealthy Greek citizen and presented to Queen Frederika as a private gift.

The sapphire; Queen Frederika using it as a pendant on this necklace

When it wasn't in use as an accessory to that mega sapphire, the pearl and diamond necklace could also be used as a tiara. Queen Frederika's daughter Princess Irene did so on a few occasions in her younger years, and the halo effect created by the side motifs worked well with her of-the-moment hairstyle.

Irene was the last person (to my knowledge) to be seen using the necklace as a tiara, and it has disappeared from public view. The sapphire also disappeared, only to resurface in a Christie's auction in 2003, where it was listed as the property of a noble family and sold for $1,482,089. It is one of the largest cut sapphires in existence.

Which would you pick: Tiara form, necklace form, or take-the-sapphire-and-run form?

I've been thinking about it, and I've decided that Queen Mathilde might be the most Diane Lockhart-esque out of our new batch of queens. And this little number above has Diane written all over it. (It's possible that I've been catching up on The Good Wife and admiring all that expensive fancy lawyer work wear, yes.)

This passes muster, I think. It does, however, look like it used to be a crop top, and then someone realized that pope was going to be hanging around, and decided to fill in that middle section right quick.

The day includes a cathedral service, a ceremony in the palace courtyard, a bit of waving from the balcony, and an evening gala. I genuinely loved Princess Caroline's outfit for the day events - an elegant Chanel blazer and dress, a bit of a hat, some fab hair. Princess Stephanie also looked pretty sleek in her simple coat, though her choice of a scrunchie instead of a hat (she never wears hats, but still) removes any and all coat bonus points.

Tatiana went for the nutty professor look in her Dolce & Gabbana coat and mortarboard-looking hat, but I kind of like it. Not that anyone was looking much in that direction given the debut National Day appearance of little Sacha and his little knees, clinging to dad Andrea and grandma Caroline.

Also present at the cathedral were Monaco residents the Duke and Duchess of Castro. She's prone to dramatic outfits and this one certainly does have some flair, but you know the purple is right up my alley.

Princess Charlene skipped out on most of the day's events and I can't
blame her, those twins are due next month and if she wants to shuffle
around the palace in her bunny slippers all the time right about now,
more power to her. But she did make a beaming balcony appearance in an
Akris double faced cape with a jaunty beret. (That's the smile of a
woman who's still wearing her bunny slippers, fancy outfit and all,
right?)

"Stephanie, look. Look at allllll those people who remembered to leave their scrunchies at home." I think Sacha's on my side here.

At the evening gala, we weren't at risk for scrunchie infection, but we did catch a serious case of ADLD. Another Dang Lace Dress. No fault of Tatiana's that we've seen so.very.many. of these in a row, so I'll just decide she wanted to confirm those reports of her second pregnancy and leave it at that.

Caroline can be trusted to be different, at least, and her repeated coat is the rare piece that works both as an evening coat and also with your favorite pair of bunny slippers. I'm all for it. I hope she shares with Charlene.

20 November 2014

I leave you with the latest in our series of new sovereign introductory visits - Felipe and Letizia visiting Italy yesterday. The repeated Varela suit is not too bad, though I'd take an evening stroll in Rome over it any day.

First up: Sofia Hellqvist, who sported a lined red lace gown by Tadashi Shoji. Colored lace is dubious to start, and - through no fault of her own - she's falling at the end of a long run of royal lace gowns. So this is not getting much love from me. She did not wear a tiara, which was to be expected since she's still in fiancée territory, but I was sad to see she didn't even get to practice tiara hair. You know I'm always on Team Updo to start with, but here I think it would have helped make up for the fact that she's the only one in the royal party without a little bling.

Next: Crown Princess Victoria. She repeated the long Escada gown she wore to the Dutch inauguration. It's definitely better with tiara and without the hat, and it probably sparkles something fierce, but it's a little blergh to stand on its own. She paired it with the Cut Steel Tiara, which is great and all - but I'm starting to miss the rest of the Swedish tiaras. It's been a long time since we've seen Victoria in anything but a cut steel piece. Wherefore art thou, Baden Fringe? Eh?

And finally, Queen Silvia, who took my best dressed for the night. Past outings of this dress include the Nobel Prize ceremony in 2010, where she masterfully paired this great green with the Leuchtenberg sapphires. I miss those luscious blues, even though the downsized Connaught Tiara is a more appropriate choice for the event.

18 November 2014

Queen Letizia and Queen Rania both have a tendency to go simple and businesslike with their work wear. Sometimes a little too simple for my tastes, but these two recent examples are hitting just the right level of simple chic in my eyes.

I never thought the day would come, but she's picked a basic gray suit that I can actually get on board with! It's like seeing a unicorn in person. This is from Nina Ricci, not one of her usual designers, and the peplum and shoulder details are taking that basic gray and kicking it up several notches.

Nina Ricci suit, Malababa clutch

I could do without the bag, honestly, but I guess I'm just the sort that prefers to leave the geology out of my handbags.

Last week, Queen Máxima had a day of engagements including opening a new building for a cheese company.

This is half of an outfit we've seen on her before, last time pairing the gold top with trousers as per the Natan model (left, below) and this time pairing it with a burgundy pencil skirt and burgundy and gold accessories, including brooches by an Argentine designer. And while it does still have the air of the Mad Men maternity department (maybe she was just planning on sampling as much as possible at the cheese place - can't blame her for that), I do find the skirt to be an improvement.

The hat, were it an actual pillbox, would have also constituted an improvement. Alas...

It's more of a life preserver than a donut this time, wouldn't you say? It's a safety measure, guys, jeez.

16 November 2014

Nothing like a Sunday of weddings and sparklies to get your week started on the right foot, right? Right.

--Royal Wedding Alert: Morocco has been celebrating the nuptials of Prince Moulay Rachid, brother of King Mohammed VI, and Oum Keltoum Boufares. The bride wore a rich green dress and veil for one ceremony followed by a white ensemble with tiara for another event. Sheikha Mozah was among the dignitaries in attendance. Some links for you: Video 1, Video 2, Video 3, Article and gallery. [YouTube and Hello]

--British Prince Update #1: Friday was Charles' birthday! This commemorative gallery features both penguins and awkward dancing pictures and I can't think of a better way to celebrate. [Express]

14 November 2014

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took on the task of attending the annual Royal Variety Performance, something that rotates between family members. Has anybody else noticed that William made the switch to loafers (in velvet or suede, looks like) with his tuxes now? I feel like we should talk about that. Subtle slipper style. Me likes. I shall await his debut of the McQueen beaded skull style.

I suspect you did not come here to talk about men's shoes, though. Fair enough. To Kate! She wore a new dress from Diane von Furstenberg in black lace. This is the second DVF lace gown we've seen this month, actually, the first being the plum number sported by Princess Stéphanie during Germany's state visit to Luxembourg. Put Stéphanie's color with Kate's neckline and sleeve length, and I'd be in heaven. I'm in heaven anyway because of a Kate Updo Sighting, mind you, but I'm quite greedy.

She also wore her Kiki McDonough blue topaz and diamond hoop earrings

The Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Denmark also had a night out, traveling to Germany where Mary was presented with a BAMBI Award for her charitable endeavors, particularly her work against domestic violence. Frederik tagged along, probably because he saw Mary's dress and jumped at the perfect opportunity to wear that navy tux he likes so much. (Or maybe just because he was proud of his wife, I'm not a mind reader.)

It's getting to that time when I start pondering the best looks of the year, and people, we have a serious contender for Mary's best. This is a Moment right here, capital M. That sparkly dress under all those lights, fabulous!

Mary's navy blue gown is from Jesper Høvring, worn with her aquamarine girandole earrings, a massive ring, and an Ole Lynggaard Flower bracelet. She's worn the matching Lynggaard Flower earrings in the past, and though I usually reserve my drooling for the older jewels, I neeeeed this set in the worst way. Sadly, no Santa that's ever visited my house has pockets quite that deep. Le sigh.

13 November 2014

The wedding of Princess Marie of Edinburgh (1875-1938) and Crown Prince Ferdinand of Romania in 1893 was a typically grand occasion, just as one would expect when the bride is the daughter of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (and therefore a granddaughter of both Queen Victoria and Tsar Alexander II) and the groom is a future king. And just as one would expect from a wedding like this, plenty of precious jewels were among the gifts lavished on the bride. From her father came a parure of turquoise and diamonds, including this tiara of scrolling diamonds surrounding round turquoise stones, plus a necklace and earrings. The set was made by London jeweler Carrington. Other British relatives provided more turquoise jewels in the form of a bracelet and a brooch (click here for more on her wedding gifts).

Marie in the turquoise tiara, earrings, and necklace

Marie, who became Queen of Romania in 1914, would later be pictured wearing jewels in a more theatrical manner, but at the beginning of her marriage, this was a fairly petite tiara choice that seems to have suited her well. Unfortunately, I believe this lovely turquoise tiara has been lost to time. When Romania became embroiled in World War I in 1916, Marie's jewels were sent away for safekeeping in Moscow…and if you know your history, you’re already cringing, because you know now what Marie didn’t back then: Russia would soon be taken over by revolutionaries, and the Bolsheviks were not fans of returning such valuables. Queen Marie never saw those gems again. She built up another collection, but when the Romanian monarchy was eliminated, more jewels had to be sold to finance the family in exile. A shame, it is, because another smaller turquoise tiara – a stone quite polarizing for some of you – would be lovely to see in use today.

I do love a good flashback, but neither of these are flipping my skirt. As much as I love an updo, I think Letizia's takes this a little too far into costume territory. And as much as I love a strong green coat, Mathilde's quintuple button closure - which I imagine was added for extra interest - leaves me thinking they left some other design element off.

On the Luxembourg side of things, Maria Teresa tapped into my deep love for ombré, and Stéphanie's fancy little updo made for a nice balance with her simple dress. Not a bad showing, but I'll fall for that Varela every time.

--Queen Letizia has been stepping up her solo official trips since becoming queen. This week, she went to Portugal and wore a smashing red suit (love her in red, love it love it). She and Felipe will continue their introductory visits with day trips to Luxembourg and Belgium in the coming week, so stay tuned for that. [Diez Minutos]

07 November 2014

What has Crown Princess Mary been up to lately? Emptying her closet of all available printed items, it seems.

Dolce & Gabbana skirt, Etro coat

All these prints went on a trip with her to South Africa this week, a visit which focused on things like sexual and reproductive health and rights, which Mary is a big advocate for, as well as commercial cooperation between Denmark and South Africa cooperation and the like.

Heartmade dress, Massimo Dutti dress

And this is a great example of a wardrobe hitting just the right note - it's fun to put it all together, but it's not the centerpiece of the trip. Billed-Bladet's YouTube channel has plenty of videos to give you a feel for the visit, such as this one in which Mary makes a new friend:

Blouse from Hugo Boss

This is not a comprehensive round up, but I will include one of my favorite looks, from an evening reception:

Eventually, the tiara left the Essex family and was added to the collection at Cartier. The renowned French jeweler has loaned the tiara out on multiple occasions, allowing it to be worn by Clementine, Lady Churchill, for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, by Crown Princess Margarita of Romania for her wedding, and by a model in a Vogue photoshoot, to name a few. It has also been displayed in many exhibits. You can spot it sparkling away in the video below, from the large Paris exhibition earlier this year:

This tiara is actually pretty big. Its tall structure makes it one of the rare tiaras that can stand up in a hairstyle that might otherwise swallow a smaller piece (see both Clementine and Margarita above). The size plus the dangling pendant at the bottom center of the piece could make it hard to wear - but they make it great to display, so it's right at home in the Cartier collection.

05 November 2014

I said Máxima brought it during the Dutch state visit to Japan, but I think she might have left it there. Because next up, she and Willem-Alexander paid a state visit to South Korea and, sartorially speaking, it was...questionable. Yesterday I was exclamation pointy, today I'm question marky.

She chose a Mattijs van Bergen dress for the welcome ceremony, just as she did in Japan, but this one...I don't know? I like the silhouette, and I don't mind a wrap when it's, uh, well wrapped, I guess.

Maybe I'm just not one for bright brights paired with khaki beige. Meh.

Then came the state banquet and - sad face - it was only the sort that requires suit and tie for him and a knee-length dress for her. No tiaras, no gowns. Plenty of question marks, though, thanks to the curious texture of this Jan Taminiau dress. From afar, it's kind of mermaid-y. From close up...?? Once again, I don't know. The link in the tweet below will take you to a closer look.